HDTV Humax &

[Mr Ed]

Background
- Ok I used to subscribe to sky years ago, just can't bear to do it again and freeview fine for me and the family.
- I have an HD ready plasma and still have the Astra (sky digital) dish with OKish signal according to me box
- I don't have a sky card anymore even for the free stuff
- Also have old bigger fixed dish pointing at hotbird with old analogue pace unit
- I want to see some HD including the world cup.
- I was thinking of getting a Humax 2000 next week once the update proves it can receive the BBC feeds.

Questions
- Assuming Humax is compatible, can it just be plugged into the astra feed and all will work with the old sky lnb?
- Can I pick up German HD channels and can I get a card for them? Don't know anything about cards.
- If I wanted to use the hotbird dish do I have to get a switch to feed the 2 cables into (Humax only has one input).

Apology
- Sorry for being cheeky and asking 3 questions hope this is ok.

[BGonaSTICK]

Hi there Mr Ed

OK, as far as Q1 is concerned, yes, assuming everything is still functioning as it should on the dish/LNB front and Humax compatibility issues are resolved, then you'll be watching the World Cup in HD.

On the Humax issue, just make absolutely sure that it's fixed 100% before you part with your cash. I personally have some doubts about the patch being made available this week. That's just a gut feel.

Q2 - There are several reports of the German HD channels (Premiere package) working on the Cerebro card in a Dragon cam on the Humax 1000 IIRC. I'll check my sources for you. This is not a reliable source of TV viewing though, as the card could stop working at any time. The official subscription card will obviously work OK in the standard-issue Hummy 1000 if you can get hold of one outside of Germany.

Q3 - You don't say what you want to use the Hotbird dish for, but basically yes - if the receiver you end up with is digital and has DiSEqC 1.0 capability (99% of all digital receivers do, excluding the Sky digibox - which doesn't) then a simple 2 or 4 way DiSEqC switch will allow you to switch instantly between the two dishes.

You would need to make sure that the LNB on the old dish is digital too, but they're only a few quid for a basic item. Hope I've correctly understood your requirement on the last point.

Hope this helps.

[BGonaSTICK]

Yes, apparently from Predator V3.42 onwards (Predator is the software you load onto the Dragon/T-Rex CAM) and a suitably programmed Cerebro card (use the 384CZ file) you can open the three Premiere HD channels. That is where I believe the BBC World Cup feeds are originating from anyway, although they are dramatically reformatted along the way.

STICK

[Mr Ed]

Thanks a lot for getting back to me, much appreciated. Just a couple more points.....

- I will wait as you suggest for compatibility with the BBC feed to be resolved!
- Can anyone confirm if the Humax 2000 is compatible with German Premiere HD feeds. If so this is good as I think they are showing all games.
- Is the Humax 2000 compatible with Cerebro / Dragon , including Premiere HD?
- Is there any other HD receiver box option?...with card compatibility

Better start reading up on Cerebro Dragon...anyone point me to an idiots guide.

[BGonaSTICK]

I can't answer your first two with 100% certainty, as I haven't got the Humax HD-CI2000, and I wouldn't want to give you duff info. Maybe someone else out there has one?

I'm pretty sure it will though, as the 2000 is very similar to the 1000, and that's the box that Premiere issue to their HD subscribers.

One of the main differences is that the PR-HD1000 has Nagra 2 support built-in, as the three Premiere HD channels (Premiere HD Film, Premiere Philips HD Sport and Discovery HD Deutschland - all on 19.2E 11914 H 27500 9/10) are encrypted that way.

The Cerebro card (AKA 'Brain' and 'Zebra') is simply programmed with a 3.58MHz Phoenix programmer.
You can find our guide to programming the Dragon (AKA T-Rex) here:

http://www.satellitehelp.co.uk/forum...hp?topic=233.0

STICK

[Mr Ed]

Ok I tried...I really tried to get an understanding of Dragons and CAMs and things..but

Just a recap, I want to see all I can on Astra including Premiere HD and BBC HD with a Humax 2000, maybe hotbird too
So I need to....

- Buy a Humax 2000 about £290
- Buy a Dragon cam (4.1?) about £90
- Buy a Cerebro card £50
- Card Programmer.....don't know what sort

Find somewhere an easy talk through

This all seems a bit pricy once you add it up!
Assuming I could understand how, can the card allow multiple access to different providers or do you have to programme each time for specific channels?

PS Does Hotbird still have analogue broadcasts? If so can someone give me a channel name and tuning details so I can fiddle with my old analogue system to find hotbird again.

[BGonaSTICK]

OK, you're not doing so bad

I'll let Analoguesat talk you through the last point, as he's the expert on that.

I'm not an whizz on cards and CAMS myself, so hopefully Mickha will help you out with a detailed walkthrough of how to program the card. If not, one of us can put something together, no problems.

Either of them will should be able to give you some more detail on how to program your Dragon CAM, but I think our existing walkthrough does cover it pretty well. Just a case of following the instructions to the letter.

The Humax HD-CI 2000 is a nice box, but I can't give you chapter and verse as everyone is waiting for the BBC HD firmware patch that Humax have promised. One of our other members, Bilbo is chasing this one down and I'm sure he will post an update just as soon as one is available.

As for your shopping list, everything seems in order but in this game there are no guarantees. Although we give you the information in the best of faith, we can't be held responsible for any incompatibilities you may encounter. Having said that, I'm fairly confident that the first-hand reports I've read are reliable.

The T-Rex (New name for the Dragon) can be had for around £75, and the Cerebro for £35.

You can have the whole lot inclusive of delivery and VAT for £113.98 from Spectrum.

_http://www.spectrum-skytv.co.uk/index.php

Speak to them to confirm our findings before you buy. They're pretty helpful. They also sell the Humax 2000 for £279.99

We can provide all the detailed support you need to get your CAM and card up and running, so don't worry about that.

You will need any Phoenix compatible programmer for the Cerebro. Spectrum don't have a great range, but can advise.

A popular range are the Infinity programmers. The 'Infinity USB Phoenix' is a good old-school programmer, or the weapon of choice these days is the 'Infinity Unlimited'.

I'm afraid it does start getting a bit expensive when you want multiple packages, but that's just the way it is I'm afraid. This is especially the case with HD stuff as it's so new and untested.

HTH

STICK

[Mr Ed]

Thanks again for the info. I just chatted to a very helpful local dealer who has offered to get me started (for a price!). He said to hold off like everyone else till the Humax is sorted. He also suggested I waited for a new box about to be released from Pace. Do you know what this is or when it is out? He thought towards the end of May.

[BGonaSTICK]

No, I don't know for sure what the Pace is, but AFAIK there are only two flavours of Pace HD boxes

The DS810 KP is a Premiere-specific incarnation, aimed much like the Humax PR-1000 at the German subscribers, and then there is the DS810 XE which is the unrestricted European-wide version effectively matching the HD-CI 2000. I'm not sure if the latter is out yet, so that may well be what your dealer is talking about.

My guess is that unless Pace get onto this in double-quick time, their box won't work with the BBC service either.

Anyhow, you know what prices you can get your hardware for, so you won't get ripped off. Motorised dish installation from £50 - £100, dish/motor/LNB/cable/brackets from £140 for good branded gear (search our beginners section for makes etc).

Please let us know if you hear any more goss on the Pace your dealer mentioned, even if it's a conformation of what we've guessed.

Whatever you go for in the next 2-3 months is going to be a bit of a gamble.

[Mr Ed]

Did a bit more research and the news appears not too good for non Sky Hd receivers at the mo

The long awaited Humax update does seem to allow for the BBC broadcast but disables ability to receive HD from other providers in the expected format, ie Premiere HD. Most HD material is from premiere including all World Cup games.

"However, when the BBC asked Sky to uplink their HD broadcasts, Sky did so using their own non-standard format (remember anything to do with Sky is particular to Sky TV!). Receivers did not work with the BBC.

The BBC complained and we are told that Sky claimed the BBC did not specify the standard format at the time. Sky said they would, however, change it to a standard format at some point in the future.

All manufacturers including Humax are trying to bring out new software before the world cup. Humax expect to release "UK" software soon before the world cup so it works with the BBC but might not work with other channels using the standard format.

This software will be available from the Astra 2 satellite at 28E for an over the air upgrade or from their web site.

If time permits they would like to produce software for both systems but this would take longer - too long.

But if Sky go to standard format in the middle of the world cup, either the original software must be put in from the web site or Humax will quickly respond with it over the air."

The Pace DS810XE is available now and shows the BBC feed but some say the CI slot seems to be disabled according to some......so no Premiere

Seems I can't go with either for the time being.